She however suggested that only spaghetti and noodles should be removed from the list because of “the economic recession as well as the fact that they currently constitute a dominant and accessible food which is one of the most affordable by all economic classes of the society.”

In response to the proposed upward review of excise duties on locally produced wines and spirits, operators in that sector said that the decision would threaten an investment worth over N420bn.

In an open letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, which was published by The PUNCH, the operators under the aegis of Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria maintained that far from being luxury items, their products were largely consumed by the low-end and mainstream segment of the society.

Their letter stated in part, “Any huge adjustment in our products’ prices occasioned by high excise duty will lead to low demand and staff layoffs. The estimated contribution of our industry in terms of corporate tax and Value Added Tax is N60bn per annum and the sector employs over 10,000 people directly and 15,000 indirectly.”

They also said, “While the proposed increase for beer sector is N6 per litre, wine is N114 per litre and spirit is N147 per litre. This is a clear case of discrimination and an attempt to kill the wine and spirits subsector in favour of the beer subsector for reasons that are difficult to understand.

“Most locally produced brands are packed at about N250 per bottle and a massive increase in the excise duty ranging from average of N142 to N175 per litre is a decision to kill the industry. This will also put local manufacturers at a disadvantage against imported brands.

“We are currently operating with marginal gain and any increase will bring us to negative balances, which will force us to shut up shop and retrench workers.”

According to stakeholders in the real sector, the impact of imposing tariffs on consumer goods will be devastating.

Data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the local manufacturing sector was at a negative growth trajectory.

The sector first recorded its first positive growth of 1.36 per cent shortly after the recession, aided by some policy changes that favoured the local industry. But lack of effective implementation of the policies threw it back into a decline.

In the second quarter of 2017, the growth rate fell to 0.64 per cent and -2.58 per cent in the third quarter of the year – an indication that the sector might be drifting back into economic recession, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said in its latest outlook on the Nigerian economy.

For consumers, unemployment and inflation have wiped out purchasing power and manufacturers are lamenting that it is difficult for them to transfer the cost incurred from poor infrastructure and high interest rates to consumers since their purchasing power is very low.

In the past, any increase in prices of these common consumer goods had seen people switching to lower priced products mostly shipped in from Asia, manufacturers said.

According to the Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Muda Yusuf, it is not the best time to even consider imposing tariffs on consumer goods.

He blamed the trend on the government’s aggressive drive for revenue but warned that there was a need for moderation.

He said, “If the government is trying to grow the local industry, imposing duties on locally manufactured goods is a contradiction of that objective.”

That is what we are saying about this drive to earn revenue. If the revenue drive is becoming too aggressive, it will negatively affect investment and the capacity of businesses to create jobs.

“The imposition of duties on these fast-moving consumer goods will push up the cost of production and the prices of the items will be increased.

“These firms are already paying corporate tax, withholding tax, education tax and so many other taxes. Imposing excise duties on their products again will not be a good idea.”

MAN, a member of the Presidential Tariff Technical Committee, said it had taken a position on the planned tariff review in the last meeting it held with Adeosun.

It said that the association had rejected any imposition of tariffs on locally manufactured goods because the industry was still struggling for survival.

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The Made-in-Aba campaign created by the TBWA Africa\Middle East Network has bagged the Grand prix award at the annual leadership conference dubbed “Africannes” in South Africa.

According to a statement from the agency, the Grand Prix is an award given when a campaign is seen to meet the highest standards in creativity, execution and impact.

“This is only the second Grand Prix awarded in the last five years,” it stated.

The Global Creative Chairman, TBWA\Worldwide, John Hunt, was quoted as saying that it was important to ensure that communication campaigns were not treated with a knee-jerk/start-and-stop approach but with a clear intention to create impact and affect the lives of people.

According to him, the Made-in-Aba campaign had clearly demonstrated these positive traits.

He also commended the TBWA\CONCEPT Nigeria for finding the right partner in Ford Foundation, which helped drive the success of the campaign.

He expressed the hope that the campaign would be sustained with even more initiatives both with Ford Foundation and new partners that would be keen to support the campaign, having seen its power and impact.

The Ford Foundation and TBWA Concept also collaborated with the Abia State Government to promote made-in-Aba goods.

The representative of Ford Foundation in Nigeria, Prof. Paul Nwulu, had explained that Ford Foundation was inspired to partner the Abia State Government following the commitment shown by the Okezie Ikpeazu administration towards promoting entrepreneurship and commerce through the campaign.

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A group, the Companion, has called on the Federal Government to prevail on its ministries, departments and agencies to increase their patronage of made-in-Nigeria products.

This, it said, would encourage the consumption of locally made products, generate more job opportunities and boost the nation’s economy.

The President of the group, Alhaji Wale Sonaike, stated this at a press briefing in Lagos, where he also enjoined the nation’s leaders to focus its anti-corruption campaign on preventing corruption.

In encouraging the patronage of locally made products, he said, “This should reflect in official dress code, foods served at government functions, office equipment and decorations, official cars, oversea trips, contract awards and other allied activities of the government.”

Although he commended the efforts of the Muhammadu Buhari-government in the fight against corruption, he said, “a better approach and more lasting solution should be adopted to prevent corruption instead of fighting it.”

Sonaike also said, “Appropriate technology and systems should be deployed with embedded checks and balances to checkmate impropriety and raise alarm.

“Infractions should also be punished immediately. When this is done, embezzlement of funds will be drastically reduced.”

He had earlier commended the executive arm of government for the early presentation of the national budget to the National Assembly and called on the lawmakers to ensure a thorough and quick scrutiny of the budget for signing into law by the end of the year.

“The National Assembly should avoid going on any recess until after the conclusion of the budget debate. This has become necessary in order to walk the talk about change,” the Companion president said.

He also spoke on the recent report of slavery in Libya where Nigerians and other nationals were victims, condemning the act and describing it as unfortunate.

According to him, “It is clarion call to African leaders especially the sub-saharan African leaders to show more concern for the uplift of their citizens and the development of their economies. It is very sad to note that able bodied and young Nigerians who should stay back to contribute to the economic development of the country are being forced to flee in search of greener pastures. Government at all levels should pay more attention to infrastructural development, which has multiplier effects on the economy.”

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A lawyer, Temi Shenjobi, founded the Simply Nigerian Fair in 2016 alongside three others – Linda Okome, Penelope Gobir and Nkiru Asika. In this interview with KEMI LANRE-AREMU, she talks about the expediency of the programme among other issues

Why has it become necessary to host the Simply Nigerian Fair?

First of all, we believe passionately in promoting homegrown businesses and we want to hold an event that celebrates local entrepreneurs. Also, there are many creative and enterprising businesses that do not have shops or formal distribution platforms that can benefit from this type of retail fair that brings them in direct contact with potential buyers.

To what extent will it impact and support homegrown businesses?

We are very proud that the Simply Nigerian Fair has brought participating businesses increased visibility, attention and exposure to a larger market. Our vendors also gain from the capacity-building sessions that we run before each Fair.

What will exhibitors and buyers gain from this experience?

Exhibitors gain the opportunity to showcase their goods to a wider audience and expand their clientele, while buyers enjoy not only a very enjoyable day out, but also a chance to discover affordable and high quality local brands that they may not come across every day. And with Christmas coming up, this is the perfect place to shop for unique Christmas gifts.

What categories of exhibitors and audience will you be playing host to?

The Simply Nigerian Fair includes exhibitors in six categories: food, fabrics and footwear, fresh produce, hair and body, home and lifestyle, plants and flowers. I think we are one of the more diverse retail fairs.

What are some of the recurring challenges in hosting a fair of this nature?

Like many businesses in Nigeria, the fair has its challenges in terms of funding, logistics issues and the costs of providing infrastructure such as power.

Is this profit-driven initiative?

Our focus is less on profit and more on making sure the fair is a success and adds value to both the vendors and the customers.

Do you enjoy support from the government and corporate organisations?

We enjoy a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, who had the foresight to come on board from the first edition of the fair. We are also in partnership with Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan-Atlantic University and Global Entrepreneurship Week, of which SNF is an official event.

Furthermore, we are proud to have the support of other organisations such as Lagos State Parks and Gardens, Leadway Assurance, House of Tara, Cabal Entertainment and Style House Files.

How can government support indigenous businesses?

Government at all levels need to truly recognise the importance of made-in-Nigeria goods and services and put measures in place to encourage local businesses. These include tax incentives, access to affordable long-term financing, smooth access to foreign exchange for exporters, regulatory incentives for exporters of local products; funded capacity building initiatives and more investment in formalising local distribution networks.

What are some of the highlights of the last two editions?

Anyone, who has attended SNF in the past, will tell you that the vibe at the event is just phenomenal. It is such a fun day-out; people come with their friends and family; they meet and make new friends; they discover new products. There is music, food, entertainment. It is hard to pick out one highlight.

How do you intend to screen out substandard goods at the fair?

We do not just take money from anybody that wants to be part of the Fair. We have the vendors fill out a detailed application form. We follow up to find out more about their business to make sure that it meets our criteria of being made, assembled or created in Nigeria and we vet the quality.

What informed your choice of Kate Henshaw to declare the fair open?

Kate Henshaw is a natural choice to open the fair. Her celebrity status, her goodwill, her bubbly personality, her proudly Nigerian spirit all led us to invite her to the last SNF, where she also declared the fair open. When it came to this edition, we didn’t even want to look for anyone else; she is firmly our SNF queen.

Why is the SNF being held once a year instead of quarterly for instance?

We held one fair last year, and we will have held two this year. Perhaps in 2018, we will run three editions or more.

Aside from the fair, are there other kinds of support that you provide to homegrown businesses?

We run a very valuable Vendors Meeting for the business owners at the Fair, where the parastatals from the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, Corporate Affairs Commission, SMEDAN and others, come to talk to the vendors about how best to avail themselves of the services of each agency. We also include other business advice for example from external marketing experts or from our SNF director, Penelope Gobir, who shares her expertise in retail business with the business owners.

What has been the SNF’s attendance figure?

The last two fairs have drawn about 700 to 800 shoppers on the average. The forthcoming fair on November 19 is using double the ground space and will have double the vendors. So, we expect at least 1,500 customers.

What is special/unique about this fair that differentiates it from competing industry fairs?

What differentiates us is our focus on Nigerian brands, our lush garden setting and the diversity of our categories – there are not many fairs where you will see fresh produce or plants and flowers sellers next to fashion vendors for example.

Are you looking to expand the scope of the SNF?

We do have the ambition to expand the scope of SNF and we will make some firm decisions after this edition as to what direction we will take. We might decide to increase the frequency of the fair, or increase the duration to two days, or move to a larger location or even take the fair outside Lagos as many people have invited us to do

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A non-governmental organisation, Proudly Nigerian, has called on the government and members of the public to always support indigenous ideas and business so as to promote the nation’s socio-economic development.

Speaking during a visit to Punch Place, the corporate headquarters of Punch Nigeria Limited on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway on Wednesday, the General Manager of the campaign, Mr. Michael Abugo, said that the government and Nigerians’ support for local initiatives and business would not only improve the economy but also significantly enhance the image of the country in the international community.

Abugo, who said the organisation was seeking the cooperation of the PUNCH titles to help raise the consciousness of citizens in supporting local brands, stated that they were embarking on the campaign to encourage honest and hardworking individuals not to relent on their efforts.

He said, “This is the right time for Nigerians to take their destiny in their hand. It is time to stop all form of murmuring, grumbling and move this nation out of negativism into positivism.

“Proudly Nigerian Campaign has been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission for the past 17 years even though we decided to watch carefully all along before we decided to come out fully now.

“We want to project Nigeria, to locate, recognise and celebrate Nigerians all over the world that are doing well and making us proud.

“We want to be able to say to the international community that something good can come out of Nigeria. It is time to stop allowing outsiders project us in negative light.

“In selecting and celebrating Nigerians of exceptional courage and achievements, we will use the indices of our core values which are patriotism, professionalism, integrity and truth, to locate and recognise Nigerians that have 100 per cent local content or multinationals driven by Nigerians.”

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The Charge‘d Affair of Nigera in Mali, Yara Abdulsalam, says an indigenous motor manufacturing company, Innoson Motors, has signed MoU with a Malian firm to export 400 locally made vehicles to Mali.

Abdulsalam made the announcement on Friday in Abuja when he led a delegation of businessmen from Mali to visit the Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.

He said that during the week, Innoson Motors signed Memorandum of Understanding with Taxi Plus VIP, a Mali based transport company for the expansion of transport business in that country.

He said the development was the outcome of “Made-in-Nigeria products exhibition” held in Bamako in 2016.

He said that the exhibition was facilitated by Ginco Group, a Nigerian firm based in Mali to show case Nigeria’s potentials.

Abdulsalam said, “From the exhibition, Taxi Plus VIP approached the embassy that they wanted to import vehicles from China but, we told them that we have indigenous company in Nigeria that manufactures vehicles.

“They started talking with Innoson through Nigerian Export Promotion Commission and the deal was later finalised.

“Mali is the centre of Francophone countries and has boundary with eight countries.

“If the MoU materialises, it will positively affect all other countries and will increase Foreign Direct Investment in Nigeria.”

The Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, on Thursday said the present administration was committed to ensuring that government and its citizens patronise locally made products.

To this end, he said, Nigerians must eat and drink Nigerian products at state banquets.

Osinbajo said this at an interactive session he had with top government officials on the ease of doing business at the old Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

He said the government would work out incentives for performance by building reward system that punishes malfeasance.

He said preference must be given to indigenous providers of goods and services to strengthen the system.

Osinbajo said, “I agree that a system of rewarding performance, and punishing malfeasance is key. We must work out incentive schemes even as we tighten up sanctions regimes.

“We hit 70 percent quickly on the 60 days of ease or doing business target because of the cooperation of all the agencies like ministry of interior, immigrations, customs etc and that is why the remaining
30percent we will also achieve and deliver. I will hold myself accountable to it and I will also hold you accountable.

“Usually, we blame the system . But the system is men and women not machines. So we can and must reform it. These proposed executive orders present a unique opportunity to perform. Ladies and gentlemen let us perform.

“The President has laid out a cornerstone policy of this administration. We must grow what we eat and make what we use. The President again enunciated this principle in the Economic Recovery and
Growth Plan…Buy Nigerian, Use Nigerian.

“So we must now insist that at state banquets we eat and drink Nigerian.”

He described it as hypocrisy where leaders who call on their followers to consume locally produced goods while they buy foreign brands.

The governor, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the fourth edition of Made-in-Aba Trade Fair in Abuja on Monday, stated that consumption of locally produced goods was the best way to improve the economy.

According to him, buying ‘Made in Nigeria’ goods will help conserve the nation’s foreign reserve and strengthen the naira against the dollar, thereby making the country financially healthy and self-dependent.

This, he said, would not only add value to Nigeria’s economy but also boost the nation’s Gross Domestic Products.

President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, said the National Assembly would ensure that local manufacturers and service providers had the enabling environment to thrive.

According to him, the Public Procurement Law already amended by the Senate would ensure that Nigerian manufacturers benefitted from the over N2trn in government procurement contracts.

Saraki, who was represented by the Deputy Majority Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Allah, stressed that the initiative would drive the nation towards the path of economic sustainability and prosperity.

The Federal Government says it has put plans in motion to enforce the buying of Nigeria products by government agencies.

The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that the Act establishing the Bureau of Public Procurements would be reviewed to enforce the buying of Nigerian products which, would in turn, boost the economy.

Mohammed said this on Monday at a town hall meeting held in Umuahia.

He said, “Talking about Made-in-Nigeria products, let me use this important national platform to announce that the Federal Executive Council has already approved measures to sensitise Nigerians to patronise such products.

“These measures include the approval given to the Bureau of Public Procurement to increase the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria goods and services through a review of its Act.”

While commending the Abia State Government for its ingenuity in the production of Nigerian products, the minister said the Nigerian military was already wearing boots made in Abia State.

He said the production and sale of such products would help diversify the economy which was still dependent on oil.

Mohammed said, “Patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods and services is also key to the success of the policy. “In this regard, I can boldly say that Abia State is a pacesetter. Today, the state supplies high-quality military boots to our military and that is just one of such impressive ventures by the state.

“So, while the state is boosting local production of goods and services, the military is patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods. It’s a symbiotic relationship and there is no better way to give teeth to the economic diversification policy.”

Mohammed added that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, which is presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, had approved a 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria.

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The Federal Government says it has put plans in motion to enforce the buying of Nigerian products by government agencies.

The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said that the Act establishing the Bureau of Public Procurements would be reviewed to enforce the buying of Nigerian products which would, in turn, boost the economy.

Mohammed said this on Monday at a town hall meeting held at Umuahia on Monday.

He said, “Talking about Made-in-Nigeria products, let me use this important national platform to announce that the Federal Executive Council has already approved measures to sensitise Nigerians to patronise such products.

“These measures include the approval given to the Bureau of Public Procurement to increase the patronage of Made-in-Nigeria good and services through a review of its Act.”

While commending the Abia State Government for its ingenuity in the production of Nigerian products, the minister said the Nigerian military was already wearing boots made in Abia State.

He said the production and sale of such products would help diversify the economy which is still dependent on oil.

Mohammed said, “Patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods and services is also key to the success of the policy. In this regard, I can boldly say that Abia State is a pacesetter. Today, the state supplies high-quality military boots to our military and that is just one of such impressive ventures by the state.

“So, while the state is boosting local production of goods and services, the military is patronising Made-in-Nigeria goods. It’s a symbiotic relationship, and there is no better way to give teeth to the economic diversification policy.”

Mohammed added that the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council, which is presided over by the Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, had approved a 60-day national action plan for ease of doing business in Nigeria.

The reforms, he said, include “making it possible for new businesses to be registered online from start to finish without having to visit the Corporate Affairs Commission office, streamlining the number of agencies operating at the nation’s ports to just six, introduction of Visa on Arrival, Tourist and Business Visas and 48-hour Visa processing procedures by the Nigeria Immigration Service, reducing the number of forms required to incorporate a business in Nigeria from seven to one, and opening of additional 28 offices for issuance of Residence Permits in Nigeria, thus bringing the issuance of Combined Expatriate Residence Permit And Aliens Cards closer to the doorstep of employers of expatriates in all 36 states and the FCT.”